The Interactive Map Brings Together Groundwater Information from Several Agencies

A wide range of information about Wyoming’s groundwater can now be found on an interactive online map recently launched by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS). The new Groundwater Atlas of Wyoming will enable users to obtain basic groundwater data quickly, which will be helpful in an arid state where groundwater is used extensively for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes.

“The groundwater atlas is another example of the Wyoming State Geological Survey’s efforts to provide ready access to important and useful geologic data and information to as many people and entities as possible,” says Tom Drean, WSGS director.

The online atlas offers an easy-to-use digital format that combines publicly available datasets from the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office (WSEO), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Wyoming Water Development Commission (WWDC). Datasets used in the initial release of the atlas are WSEO groundwater well permits, USGS produced and environmental water quality, USGS hydrologic units with links to WWDC basin plan groundwater reports, spring locations digitized from USGS topographic maps and hydrostratigraphic characteristics of Wyoming’s bedrock geology by the USGS, WSGS and WWDC. Data from WSGS groundwater projects, such as the recent Statewide Groundwater Baseflow Study, are presented in the atlas as well. Reference base layers include roads, political boundaries, surface hydrology, township ranges and general geologic data.

“The groundwater atlas brings together commonly used groundwater information from several agencies to help users quickly find out what public data is available in their area of interest,” says Jim Stafford, WSGS resource analyst and author of the atlas.

Research features of the map include the ability to search for WSEO groundwater rights by permit number, location, depth, use type and status. Additionally, users can search USGS produced water sites based on water quality and obtain hydrologic information for specific geologic formations in Wyoming’s major river basins. The attributes for all features are viewable, and results of queries and manual selections are available for download in tabular format. When a user zooms in on a map location, more detailed data appears along with labels for well depth, static water level and water quality. A popup provides instructions to users upon launching the map. An information panel with dataset descriptions and links to original data sources is also available.

The Groundwater Atlas of Wyoming will be updated frequently to enhance ease of use and as new data becomes available. The atlas is free to use and can be found via the WSGS website. Additional information about Wyoming groundwater can be found here.